I have been holding on to this article: Confessions of a Push Notification Convert | ClickZ for the past few weeks as I thought about the potential of text messaging slowly being taken over by push notifications in the coming years. The above article has a great list of reasons why Push Notifications are currently important to Marketers :
- Rich media-friendly, unlike email. You can send video, audio, forms, and maps.
- Lower cost and better tracking than SMS.
- No cost to the customer for rich media, unlike MMS.
- It's not regulated by the FCC or the FTC because it is entirely permission based.
- Can target to events and times when most users use your app.
- Can notify users when a message is waiting, creating an in-app inbox.
- Can incorporate users' location to deliver relevant content.
- Marketer-friendly interface for campaign setup, send, and reporting. Little IT support is needed.
I held on to the link for this article because I thought it was worth mentioning that Push Notifications could very well become the new text message. With the emergence of smartphones and the cost of utilizing Push vs. a text campaign (of course, you have to have an app, a base of users etc.), the lane is open for Push Notifications to become a Marketer's prime means of communicating to customers, fans, followers etc. As smartphone penetration hits the masses, the messaging system becomes easier to adopt and, at some point, text may be ignored in favor of hitting the majority of the audience through Push- especially given the cost. While, at this time, Push Notifications do not support the two-way messaging aspect of text, directing the "Pushee" to respond on a Mobile Optimized site or some other method could be just as effective. I have a feeling that the tipping point is coming- many brands are willing to optimize a mobile site for the iPhone only or create an App only for iOS so it will be an easy choice for them to ignore their non-smartphone audience and commit to messaging them only through Push Notifications.
